Elton John Hates the Internet

Sir Elton John is showing his age as well as his technophobia when he says the Internet is destroying music. A self-confessed Luddite with no cell phone or iPod, John says: "The Internet has stopped people from going out and being with each other, creating stuff. Instead they sit at home and make their own records, which is sometimes OK but it doesn’t bode well for long-term artistic vision."

Really? Seems to me people are out more than ever and one of things they are doing is listening to live music. To bands that perform in clubs where people actually do meet and communicate, unlike in the caverns of Madison Square Garden, where John recently performed while simultaneously streaming the show on the Internet.

Even as he uses the Internet when it serves his purpose, he continues to babble on:

“Let’s get out in the streets and march and protest instead of sitting at home and blogging. I do think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole Internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span.

“There’s too much technology available."

“I’m sure, as far as music goes, it would be much more interesting than it is today."

"In the early Seventies there were at least ten albums released every week that were fantastic."

Well, Elton it's more than 30 years since the '70s. Time to catch up with the times, not to embarrass yourself. Talk about getting out more. If he would leave his castle and hang outside the confines of royalty and their ilk he would have much better understanding of what's going on. And maybe his next record would sell more than the 100,000 copies his last one did.

sunonline